A Class of His Own

The press praised Chile’s game plan and Salas’s performance. “No one can stop the Matador,” headlined Don Balón magazine. The Chilean’s forward week couldn’t have been better. He had recently settled his way to the Serie A, though Manchester United and Sir Alex Ferguson were on the verge of securing his goals.

Italian giants S.S. Lazio welcomed Salas to European football, making him the second-highest-paid player in the league, only behind “Phenomenon” Ronaldo, the Brazilian superstar at Inter Milan. His prolific spell at River Plate earned him the 1997 South American Footballer of the Year, where he netted over 30 goals and won four titles during his time in Argentina: 1996 Apertura, 1997, Clausura, Apertura and the Supercopa Sudamericana. He was also the second top scorer in the South American qualifying for France’s 1998 World Cup, scoring 11 goals in 12 matches, just one behind fellow countryman Iván Zamorano.

Even Cesare Maldini, Italy’s head coach at the time and future Chilean rival in the World Cup, praised Salas. “He’s a footballer in a different class. I had heard a lot about him, but after seeing that first half at Wembley, I think Lazio is buying pure gold,” he told Don Balón.

Marcelo “Matador” Salas would go on to shine at the 1998 World Cup, scoring four goals in four matches. He later cemented his place in Lazio’s history, scoring 49 goals and winning six major titles making this move to European giants Juventus Football Club. The rest is history.